Monday, September 29, 2025
hey, that looks like a winner!
Sunday, September 28, 2025
tashlich, kinda sorta
I took my blue bucket into the edge of the dunes, knowing paper and plastic trash would have blown up there from beach picnics.
After canvassing the area north of the pier for another twenty minutes, collecting small fragments of paper and plastic, I returned to the pier.
Saturday, September 27, 2025
15th annual 24-hour play festival!
more ghouls to haunt my dreams!
I was back in Georgetown for a double dose of "AA and AAA" time, this one in the company of the Koz.
All of Dawn's little inside ghouls were re-animated last time, but all of the outside creepy crawlies were still trapped in bins.
So, even though I knew we women had been called in as the Treat Crew today, my choice was to stay outside and help Chris get his contingent ready to scream and shout and wriggle.
Why did I do that?
As I told him, in years past, I would have already gotten fresh batteries into his collection as well as hers.I didn't want to leave him with all of that to do when it was something I actually enjoyed.
I even brought him a treat: one of the jade rocks that Paul had picked up on a hike in California.
My line was: "What does Charlie Brown always say about the contents of his Halloween bag?"
Chris knew it right off!!!
So, just who did Dawn have in action?The Treat Crew, posted in the dining room as usual, consisted of my outlaw Bunny, Dawn herself, Gina, Susan, and Monica!
Monica had already left by the time I took that photo, which was around 2 PM.
But just look at all the bags of goodies crafted for those coming to the BYOP!!!
All the neighborhood kids just love trick-or-treating at this house!!!
Guaranteed to not get a single rock!(smile!)
And of course Dawn fed us!
This time, it was Pizza Puffs from Chicago!!!
Those were so tasty that I had two!
Stella got carrot sticks and chewed them all up!
All I had to do was take a bite first so she knew they were people food.
(smile!)
Friday, September 26, 2025
fb flashback from 27 September 2012
Curiouser and curiouser.
I have no idea why the Book of Face chose to show me this "Memory" a day early.
Perhaps the Universe knows tomorrow will be busy for me and didn't want me to miss this sweet post that JinHi made with this photo of me from 13 years ago.
"This is my beautiful friend Tina Smith! If ya recognize her, you must be an actor, singer, musician, community organizer, local business owner, or student, and SHE HAS BEEN THERE, tirelessly SUPPORTING YOU and always having a wonderful time at it! THIS IS HER CAUSE. Toss in a little love, kids! You can donate $1's worth of love and it would be as appreciated as a hundred. LIGHT THE NIGHT WALK: LEUKEMIA AND LYMPHOMA."Even more curious: that link is still active for my fundraising page.
She had donated a very generous $50 for that walk.
I am so fortunate to still have her in my life!
She has battled cancer, participating in every new-drug trial as they arise, for over a decade for her small-cell lung cancer.
She truly takes science to heart.
So many will have her to thank for the drug that puts their lung cancer into remission.
Yes, the world is definitely a better place because of JinHi Soucy Rand.
Thursday, September 25, 2025
couple of a*lists - see, i went to movies!
asbury sisters luncheon
Wednesday, September 24, 2025
neighing away!!!
Tuesday, September 23, 2025
back for another hit of hamilton!
"You went to that musical again?"
Of course I did! I told you last week that Carolyn and I were going to go again, didn't I? But she and I were not alone! Robin of AsbMemCh came along with us on this Tina Tuesday! She saw my post on fb about it and immediately wanted to see it again!
"Again??? She's already seen "Hamilton" on film, too?"
Even better: she has seen it FOUR TIMES live and in person!!! Once was even on Broadway with much of the cast that's in the 2016 filmed production! Plus, she's seen it in San Francisco and two other places while it was on tour!!! She says it's her favorite modern musical... and I totally believe her! Get this: she even sat on the front row, like I did!
"Wow!!! I do hope you get to go to more plays with her! She does seems to enjoy plays and musicals almost as much as you do."
I hope for that, too. You know, she only discovered the joy of theatre when her son became an actor in high school. That was about 25 years ago. So, she's been trying to make up for lost time ever since! She's really looking forward to God On Broadway next month. I'll be surprised if she doesn't get featured in at least one of those four shows!
"Very good! And did she sing along with the songs in this one?"
Of course she did! So did the little girl several seats down from her. Robin said the girl sang along with every single song!!! I bet that child was only about 13 or 14, so she must have been watching the musical on Disney+ for the last five years. Amazing!!!
"Wow!"
Her mom was just glad we didn't mind. Mind? We were singing along, too! What an incredible show!!!
"I'm thrilled you got to see it again! Did you ladies go off for luncheon after?"
Nope! We went to slunch! Hahahaha! I had hoped for us to go to Geneva's, but that restaurant was closed for vacation. Drats. So, we popped down to Carey Hilliard's on Skidaway instead. As it turned out, Robin had just been there earlier in the month for the Sisters In Faith luncheon."Isn't that the new women's group at Asbury?"
Yes, it is. I've already got plans to be part of that on Thursday. I'll be sure to let you know how it pans out. Robin said it's been going for about two years. I'm a bit peeved about being excluded from it all this time. Anyway, that's neither here nor there! I'm focusing on today!!!
"That's the right attitude, dearie! And just how did Robin and Carolyn get along?"
Swimmingly! Both of them have so many stories and both are more girly than I ever was, so they naturally kept a conversation going. It was very cool to watch! Carolyn is 79 and Robin is 64, but they hit it off quite nicely. That was good! I do need to remember that Robin is allergic to all seafood, but that shouldn't be an issue, really. Almost all the restaurants in this seaport have plenty of chicken and steak options for landlubbers.
"No seafood? Not even fish?"
That's correct. So, she had the chicken wings, Carolyn had a hamburger, and I ordered the barbeque pork plate. Something different for each and none of it from the Atlantic Ocean or nearby rivers!"Looks like you tucked into that pretty hard."
I ate all of it, I did! Then I went over to the Purple Planet of Victory to get a little treadmill action in to work off some of it. Well, and to limber up my hip and knees. Ever since that sound bath, I've had sore knees. Never going to do that again! They're getting better, though, slowly but surely.
"You know how it is. You're older, so things don't heal as quickly as they once did. Remember having to fasten your bra in the front and twist it around? That went on for a year after you pulled muscle in your right arm. That happened on one of your flights out to California."
True. Then, one morning I woke up and that arm was just fine again, as if it had never had a problem! I'm ready for my legs to follow that example. I do feel better after walking on the treadmill, then using the leg curl and the hip abductor.
"And I see that your odometer liked that you did that, too. Right?"You're correct! That mileage of "243156" makes a perfect straight! That confirms that I was right place, right time, all day. Hooray!
Monday, September 22, 2025
thanks, boston scientific
I had expected that it would end in the afternoon, so I was prepared to ship it all off with UPS after being with Dawn.
Nope!
The heart monitor's phone gave me that message about 8 AM.
Sweet!
I went back to sleep for another hour.Then I watched "Drew Barrymore", whose guest made 'pierogi pasta' using ground beef, onions, and diced potatoes with regular pasta.
I had onion pierogi, so breakfast was this!
Then to check the WSAV weather song.For the Fall Equinox, temperatures would be mild, but a return to summer heat was coming up fast.
That meant I needed to break out the Ryobi at least once more.
Drats.
Oh, but here's a funny thought I had!
Some random guy came by a couple of days ago, asking if he could cut the grass.
The next time that happens, I'm going to smile real big and give him a hearty handshake as I thank him for that gracious gift of taking care of that for me!!!
I wonder if the guy might be embarrassed to ask for money after that?
LOL!
Anyway, after the weather check, I popped the heart monitor and all its paraphernalia into the pre-addressed, postage-paid box, dropping it off at my favorite UPS.
Then to take in "The Long Walk".
Yikes... what a hard movie to sit through.
Maybe I'll have to abstain from Stephen King movies in the future.
Not that it wasn't well made... it was just incredibly brutal.
Ugh.
I decided to go to Planet Fitness to work off some of that sadness.I'd finally returned to the Purple Planet of Victory last Saturday, kinda sorta starting a reboot of that part of my year.
I also used the hip abductor to try to stretch out my hamstrings.
My right leg has been a problem all month.
After I was done with the machine and treadmill, I still had energy - and daylight - on my side.Time to tackle the front yard, armed with a fully-charged Ryobi!
I know this photo doesn't show my progress very well, but progress I made!
I got most of this half of the front yard mowed, as well as a good portion on the left side of the frame.
I'll try to catch the rest in the next day or two.
Now, time for an evening of relaxation!
The two Janes are on tonight, and they'll be a nice distraction from the echo of carbines in the movie earlier.
Sunday, September 21, 2025
screwdriver time!
Saturday, September 20, 2025
3rd new year of 2025 - hooray!
"The third new year? Oh, that's right, you started 2025 over again after Ezra whited everything out for a week. So, which country's new year is this one?"
Not a country, but a culture. Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, begins sundown on Monday, 22 September. Tonight, we celebrated the Eve of New Year's Eve! We had to celebrate a night early because Sandy always spends Sunday with her mom and stepdad.
"Family time is very important in this ten-day string of High Holy Days. My guess is they won't be going out to Music Bingo on Monday."
That's right, so I will be free to do whatever that evening. I do wonder if the following Monday might also be available for me to have alternate activities? I'll have to check and see. I really don't see any purpose in going on my own, as I have no smart phone to look up the song titles.
"Sure, I get that. So, what did you and Sandy do tonight?"
Oh, it wasn't just me and her! We went to several different places, with the J. Crew dropping in number as we traveled. We started off at Sushi Hana, the new place on Abercorn where B&D Burgers used to be. I guess neither of the sons it's named for wanted to take over."Yes, that has happened a lot around this seaport in the last few years."
We seven completely enjoyed ourselves at this new place! That first photo is of the painting that faces the sushi bar. I love it!!! Such a Japanese classic! You know, I have a magnet of "The Great Wave Off Kanagawa". So gorgeous to see it taking up an entire wall!
"It does have fabulous coloring and curves! I bet that was nice to look at during the meal, too."
Oh, we couldn't see it, but the chefs could. I spotted it while returning from the bathroom. Stopped me in my tracks, it did!
"I know it did! So, you mentioned there were seven of you?"
That's right! Sandy, Elissa, Marcia, the regulars for our Monday nights. Then we had Kathy, Devora, and Joel, as the lone male. Plus me! We all had something different for dinner, too! Several of us had sushi rolls. That photo is of my Hana House Roll, consisting of spicy crabmeat and avocado, topped with tuna, salmon, miso sauce, spicy mayo, and toasted onions. It was delicious! I even ate part of the orchid! That led to others eating their flowers, too! Maybe I'll see some of them at the Wicked Wednesday Film Fest or the Fall Family Fun Fest. I made sure to pass out those movie listings to everyone there."What a great idea!"
Right?! I had just enough that all of them got the mini-posters of each. I hadn't realized that Joel was such a fan of scary movies. We got to talking about "Sinners" and I expect to see him at NCG in two weeks. That would be great! Oh, and Kathy likes plays and she's going to join me in two weeks for the new one with Savannah Children's Theatre! We talked about their bid to take over the Star Castle, too, and what a perfect site that will be. The fundraiser is already two-thirds of the way to their goal!
"I do hope they succeed! It's certainly boding well! Okay, back on track, dear. What was next after dinner?"Then there were six. All of us - except Devora - convened at Companions & Lovers for drinks or desserts. I had the carrot cake, which had to be sent back because it was decked out in strawberry slices. For real!!! They actually got out a fresh cake for my slice. Kathy had dessert, too, choosing the chocolate torte. Wanna guess what decor it wore? And these weren't even red strawberries, they were those 'white' ones.
"Everyone else had drinks?"
Yep! Elissa had her bay Breeze, Joel had his Old-fashioned, Marcia had a glass of wine, and Sandy got their concoction of a Toasted Almond. She liked it, too!
"What's with the painting? Oh, wait, this is the place with all the odd art, right?"Right!!! By the time we got around to discussing this one, Kathy and Marcia had left. I said it was a woman wearing a scallop-necked wrap dress that she had open on the left, so that someone kneeling beside her had access to that left breast. What did I think she was so inclined for that kind of action? She'd dyed her coochie bright red to attract lovers! That really cracked them up!
"Oh, my, not even having alcohol and still carrying on like a sailor!"
Seriously, I'd said that to Joel while the other two were at the bathroom and he loved it!!! Then he made me repeat my take on the painting when Elissa and Sandy returned! And they were right: the woman did look like Liza Minelli and she would have been up for that kind of story line for sure! Remember "Cabaret"? Just sayin'!
"Yes, dear. Let's move along to the next locale for you four, shall we?"
Yes, let's! (smile!) Actually, we had a couple of false starts. Joel was the driver and he first took us to Aqua Velva, or whatever it was. Nope, we didn't even park as it clearly had a younger, more pigmented, crowd that we were. On to Steeds-cum-Deb's, to see if they had karaoke! Yeah, the street was packed with cars and the overflow crowd in the front had a strong resemblance to the other crowd. Wow, that place sure had changed!
"Yikes. Sam Johnson and Danny Torres would have been amazed."
No doubt. Joel took us on over to The Palace Diner on Abercorn after that. Coffee and bagels for the two women, french fries and Sweet Potato Pound Cake that I split with Joel. The cake was very interesting. It was kind of like a spice cake, but much milder in flavor. I don't know that I would have it again, but it was fine for a one-time thing. I'd wanted the Pineapple Upside-Down Cake, but Joel was very firm in his anti-pineapple stance, so I'd opted for the other. Next time, I'll get the Sam Johnson special for sure!"Heard."
We stayed there a bit longer than I'd expected. That's because Elissa had to call her son in Italy to make sure he got up and didn't miss his flight to Atlanta. She's going to meet him in the ATL to celebrate their holidays.
"Italy??? How very cool! Is he stationed there?"
Oh, he isn't military. He has a buddy who just got married there. It was one of those 'destination weddings', like cuz'n Jeff had in the Caribbean some few years back. I'd wanted to go, but just didn't have the money. Now, I guess it's just as well, as that marriage didn't last but a year or two.
"That's too bad for him. He's such a sweet guy."
Yes, he is. I look forward to seeing him and my blue-sky cousin next summer. That's when the next trip to St. George Island is scheduled. Fun! Okay, time to wind down!
Thursday, September 18, 2025
in defense of keith
My friend Sherry Giddens posted this meme yesterday, cracking wise about how much older Keith Richards looks compared to others in The Rolling Stones and insinuating that he'd had to wait many years for them to come of age.
Timely, right?
After all, I'd just done my little piece on the aging of Michael McKean.
So, I checked to see just how old the ax wielder is.
Holy smokes, he's actually five months younger than Mick Jagger!!!
Mick was 82 in July this year; Keith won't be 82 until December.
Bill Wyman, Charlie Watts, and Brian Jones were all born before them.
That meant Keith was actually the youngest boy in the band back in the day.
And, yet, the man looks rode hard, doesn't he, and has for as long as I can remember.
Now I have a different perspective on his place with them.
Nice to be able to use my skills as an analytical chemist to clear that up!
(smile!)
zooming to a meeting at last!
"What kind of meeting? Perhaps with the American Legion?"
May I need to suggest that to Doug. It's been a right good while since Post 36 met face to face. I will say that's made my role as Historian much easier. But, no, I speak of the AARP Georgia group of volunteers here in Savannah. I signed the list to join their ranks back in the beginning of August, then I missed that meeting.
"Oh, my! How did you miss it?"
I couldn't find out when it was supposed to be! I'd find an email, after the fact, welcoming me to the meeting... but got no response when I asked when the next one would be. Then, I almost missed the one this month, but the date was changed and I saw that email conversation in enough time to join in. So, there I was at 11 AM today, hair brushed and face washed, wearing a shirt.
"Hahahaha! So, no shorts, just panties I'm betting!"
Hey, it's still a bit early and I'm still not drinking coffee. Just sayin'.
"Oh, I read you loud and clear. So, how many were zooming with you?"
I think I counted lucky 13, not including me. There was one couple - Brenda and Herbert Singleton - plus a bunch of singles - Wanda Lloyd, Jeannnette Bacon, John Strong, Pat Patterson, Bernadette Perry, Lillian Sykes, Carolyn Barnett, Connie -something-, Adrian Bell, and Vanessa Payne. That last one is the State Director, stationed up in Atlanta. She made sure I knew that future meetings would be on the third Thursday of each month, always at 11 AM. That was good to know!"Very good to know! Hard to plan to attend when there's no pattern."
Amen to that!
"So what went on at this meeting?"
Mostly it was about gathering volunteers for two events that are coming up. One is on October 17, the other on October 25. Both are early morning events, so I made sure to let all know that I was most def not available. There seemed to be a fair amount of confusion, too, since the previous leader of this local chapter has moved to Alabama - at least, I think that's where Jenny went - and no one has been advanced to cover her spot. I'm hoping the meeting next month will be more informative for me. I will say this: they are certainly a friendly bunch, so I look forward to knowing them better.
"Well, that's wonderful! Hopefully they'll have an evening event coming up that you can be a part of!"
Yes, that would be lovely!